Gold is considered a noble metal because it exists in nature in pure form and is resistant to oxidation. Most other metallic elements are encountered as minerals as they are chemically reactive to bond with other elements. The mining industry is specialized to focus on specific deposit types. Gold can be found as native gold nuggets, or disseminated within favorable rock units to form enormous deposits, but even the tiniest particles of gold are pure and unaltered.
Well before there was a gold mining industry, early prospectors learned to look for placer deposits in stream beds or embedded within rock formations exposed as mineralized outcrops. Eventually, technology advanced to follow gold-bearing veins underground through excavations and tunnels. As more significant operations ventured deeper underground, the first gold mining companies were created, raising capital to fund extensive development.
The modern gold mining industry as it exists today emerged through a process of evolution from the grass roots stage. Mineral exploration and mining technology for all metals were advancing rapidly and new methods were developed to extract the resources. The emerging science of geology empowered enterprising individuals to seek out prospective host rock formations where gold was encountered. The scale of mining activity has increased as the industry matured.
Modern-Day Mining Techniques Changing the Landscape
The days of solitary prospectors with a shovel and a mule to advance a gold claim are fading into history.
The gold mining industry has developed technology and skills to deal with challenging deposit settings that were formerly considered unprofitable to access. Mine workings may be extended to depths of several kilometres below the surface in pursuit of rich ore bearing structures. Open pit mining operations may extend across a huge surface area to extract bulk tonnage deposits. Tremendous volumes of rock may be processed to recover each ounce of gold in order for the mining industry to seize economies of scale for lower grade deposits.
In the drive to build larger mines that may operate for many years, capital expenses may easily add up to more than a billion dollars before the first ounce of gold is produced. Specialized technology has been developed for the gold mining industry to assist in deposit modeling and the development of the most efficient mining plans for complex deposits. Moreover, larger gold mining companies may employ thousands of skilled workers at all levels of an operation. Enormous trucks and ore hauling machinery may prowl the workings of a large gold mining operation to move tons of rock. The industry requires processing plants to crush and treat the gold ore, working around the clock to recover the smallest gold particles.
Critical Mineral Mining and Economic Growth in Canada(Opens in a new browser tab)
Emerging Exploration Companies Define Large Gold Deposits for the Next Generation of Mines
Many of the major gold mining companies are gradually phasing out risky and expensive exploration activity. The gold mining industry is partially dependent on smaller exploration companies to discover new deposits and advance its development. The most talented exploration geologists with the skills to interpret a prospective setting and outline a large discovery are rarely the same people proficient in building and operating a large mine. Instead, senior project developers often bid to acquire the best new deposits and fund the construction of modern mines.
Occasionally a promising story emerges that provides the opportunity to advance from discovery through to development of a large mining complex under the same capable management team. One candidate to achieve this process in-house is junior explorer Troilus Gold Corp. The project which hosts the past-producing Troilus Gold mine produced a significant amount of gold under a previous gold mining company that operated the mine. The project eventually ceased operations and became available as a Brownfield exploration prospect to investigate new potential resources around the old mine workings. Troilus is currently advancing the project through a feasibility study towards a construction development decision as one of the largest undeveloped gold-copper deposits in North America. This junior gold company has the potential to emerge as the next big success story of the Quebec mining industry.